Top 10 Quotes

10. ‘I want every girl, every child, to be educated.’

Malala Yousafzai, the 15-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot in the head in October by the Pakistani Taliban after speaking out for women’s education, in her first on-camera statement since the attack

9. ‘I will tell the truth in the face of the sweet talk and the onslaught of smiles.’

8. ‘I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity.’

Angelina Jolie, writing about her double mastectomy, which she says dramatically lowered her risk of breast cancer

7. ‘The President should … let them keep what they’ve got.’

Bill Clinton, after millions of Americans’ health care plans were canceled for not complying with the Affordable Care Act; President Obama had promised in 2009 that Americans could keep existing plans they liked

6. ‘Trayvon Martin could’ve been me 35 years ago.’

President Obama, after George Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida

5. ‘They were asking for their voices to be heard. The results speak for themselves.’

Wendy Davis, Texas state senator, after staging an 11-hour filibuster of a bill restricting abortions, on the raucous crowd in the state capitol, whose chanting helped time expire before Republicans could pass the measure

4. “It was a joyous occasion that was absolutely wiped out.”

Mike Schlitt, whose wife, Cindy Hill, had just crossed the finish line when the Boston Marathon bombs went off

3. ‘Who am I to judge?’

Pope Francis, speaking candidly about gay priests while returning from his first papal trip to World Youth Day in Brazil

2. ‘We have not said that we possess chemical weapons, nor have we said that we do not possess them.’

Bashar Assad, Syrian President, on reports that his government crossed a U.S. “red line” by using chemical weapons

1. ‘When you are subverting the power of government, that’s a fundamentally dangerous thing to democracy.’

Edward Snowden, explaining why he released classified information to the Guardian and the Washington Post about digital surveillance programs run by the NSA